Jacqueline
by WALRUSvsUSA
Summary: Sometimes, to stay safe, people will hide the biggest secrets... And the greatest fears. (Warning: Mention of rape.)
1. Discovery

"Jack?" Bunny called as I fixed my hair. "Ya in 'ere?" I cursed as he opened my door, streaking towards the rafters as it creaked open. He groaned at my empty room, shaking his head as he walked out. I quickly tucked my hair under my hood, before opening a glowing, blue bottle and sucking down the contents. Jumping down, I laughed, happily noting my voice had gone deeper.  
"Gotcha, Kangaroo. What did you want, anyway?" I grinned, freezing his tail. He whirled around irritably, just in time for me to tease him. "What? Is little Kangaroo's tail cold? Awww, poor little thing!"  
He sputtered at that, until his look hardened and he spoke. "Stupid. Anyway, some sprite was messin wit' Tooth. C'mon, we gotta 'talk' with 'im." he growled, creating a tunnel while he told me. My eyes widened, and I stumbled he grabbed my sleeve and dragged me into the hole, placing me on his back as we raced there.  
****TIME SKIP, AFTER 'TALK'***  
"Thank you all..." Tooth smiled, her teeth glinting in the light. "But you didn't have to do all that for me. I would have easily gotten him myself!" She laughed, fluttering above the floor. "Anyway, here's my thanks. I'll give you more later, but for now..." She quickly flew up to Sandy and gave him a peck, before kissing North's and Bunny's cheeks as well. I stiffened as she flew towards me, and I scanned the room desperately to avoid any awkward situations with the girl. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut as she flew over to me. When nothing came, I cracked open one of my eyes to see why it hadn't come. Immediately after doing so, she kissed my cheek. Laughing, she winked. "I wanted your eyes to be open! Bye, everyone. Thanks for your help!" With that, she waved, turning and spiraling towards her castle in the sky.  
Turning, I found North, Sandy, and Bunny staring. "What did I do?" I said awkwardly, embarrassed by their stares. "Whaaaatttt?" I moaned, falling onto my back. "I must of done something weird though."  
"Is nothing bad, Jack. Your reaction to Tooth's kissies vas... strange." North forced an awkward grin, scratching his beard as he stared me down.  
"What he's tryin' ta say, is you reacted kinda like a gay guy. Like you didn't like girls. Which is aright, but we'd like to know if that's the case." I cursed my mellow, violet blush as it crept to my cheeks. I shuffled nervously, tugging on my hood in a habitual effort to hide my (presently invisible) hair.  
"I'm not, technically." I muttered the last part in quiet shame, and they seemed to accept my answer. Bunnymund gave me a strange look, but seemed to shrug off any suspicions. We talked for a while, before I excused myself and scampered off to my room. I was exhausted from talking to the three boys, after those awkward moments of them questioning my sexuality, I tried to have a normal conversation but it was far too difficult. I flopped onto my bed, face first. A quick twirl of my fingers, and I had created a 'Do Not Disturb' door hanger, before floating it over to the doorknob and leaving it there.  
"Finally!" Sitting up, I pulled off my hoodie, revealing a dark blue, frilled tank top, them pulled my invisible hair out of it's ponytail. After stepping off the bed, I reached into my closet and grabbed a bright pink potion. I chugged it, happily stroking my fingers through my snowy hair. I grabbed my favorite hairbrush, spinning it slowly in my hands as I admired the blue, white, and purple swirl design. Sitting down on my bed, I gently and softly tugged the brush through my hair, adoring the soft feel of each piece of it after they were brushed. I must have spent a very long time braiding, twirling, straightening, brushing, and stroking my hair, because I suddenly heard a pounding at my door.  
"Snowflake? Ya alright? North sent me to check on ya. Ya've been in there for almost an hour!" He stopped banging, but I knew he wouldn't leave until I answered him. Unfortunately, the potion did more than make my hair invisible: it made my voice different, too. I panicked, hastily making random voices to see which one resembled the potion's most. "Hello?" I gave up, and answered.  
"S-Sorry, Rabbit! I'm kinda busy right now, so come back later, okay?" I struggled with my voice, flinching at it's femininity. I stood up quickly, opening my closet to place the hairbrush. And, of course, I tripped.  
"Jack! Are you aright?" I heard Bunny raise his voice, and I curled up into a ball as he barged into the room. "J-Jack..." His eyes widened in shock at the sight of my long, pasty white hair and frilly tank top. Of course, not to mention the sight of my (covered) large chest "I'm so confused." I could have laughed at his response, but the situation made it impossible.  
"Bunny, I'm sort of a girl." He looked like I had just stolen a kid's Easter candy. I stood slowly, allowing him to see that I was, in fact, female, and that it wasn't a prank. I let my head fall shamefully, guilt coursing through me for not telling them sooner. But how could I? The world outside the Guardians was dangerous. "I should've told you all, but I'm just so used to hiding what I am. Not many spirits like me and all, including guys, so having the whole world know about my gender would be difficult. You saw what happened to Tooth, right?" I looked down to the floor, my cheeks violet in embarrassment, shame and anger. That disgusting thing had come close to stealing the one thing I could say was mine, and I was infuriated. But he had seen more than anyone else ever had, and I was so very ashamed at how I hadn't managed to fight back. What would they think of me if they _all _knew?  
"Snowflake... Ya don't need ta hide anymore." Bunny looked at me sadly, as if he was as upset as I was. "I'm sorry about wha happened. But hiding who you are now that you have us is useless. Ya can fight now, too..." Bunny smiled pitifully, trying in vain to cheer me up.  
I raised my gaze slowly, his piercing eyes meeting mine. "You don't understand, Rabbit. Even after- even after I learned to control my powers, how to fight, everything, I couldn't even lift a finger against him. You don't understand; I'm weak. I was weak then, I'm weak now, and I never will have the power to defend myself. It's hopeless..." Bunny's eyes hit the floor as he attempted to hide his tears.  
"Ya can't give up, not yet. Not when you 'ave family. Ya can't leave us behind!" He yelled, strength leaking into his voice. "Ya became a guardian. We're ya family, and when ya can't protect ya'self – hell, even when you can! - We will stay by ya and keep ya safe! Ya not alone anymore. Girl, boy, straight, gay, bisexual, smart, dumb, crazy, sane, positive or negative, no matter who you are ya will always be _our _snowflake. We all love you, Jack. And we won't eva leave you alone again." He smiled at me sweetly, and as tears welled up in my eyes he came to my side and held me. Smiling up at him, I whispered  
"It's Jacqueline." 


	2. A Painted Brush

Bunnymund smiled down to the small, seemingly fragile girl in his arms, sitting her down and dragging his fingers sweetly through her hair. He spent most of the night doing so, although Bunny decided to stop when it neared the time of the Guardian's meeting. He stood, grasping her rough hands, and gently walked her to the door.

"Bunny...? Where are we going?" she mumbled quietly, lightly digging her heels into the floor to stop their pace, happy for the durable texture of her bare feet. She looked up at him hesitantly, confusion clear on her pale face. Jacqueline stiffened when she realized what he probably was attempting, and shrugged out from his arms. "Bunny. Are you seriously trying to do what I think you are?" She glared unhappily, eyes flicking to the door, her brain restlessly trying to avoid the thoughts of deceiving and lying to her friends.

"Jack- crap, look snowflake jus' listen. They need ta know, and they'll find out eventually, mos' likely the same way I jus' did. We can't just lie to 'em all." He looked up at her, and saw her eyes growing cold, blocked, and upset. He sighed, rubbed her head, and picked up the small, highly decorated brush on her bed. "It's pretty. How'd ya get it?" Bunny lifted his head, meeting her eyes.

She smiled at his obvious change of subject, before stepping over and tugging it from his hands. She fondled it softly, memories filling her. "I found it in the trash, a long time ago. It was muddy and absolutely disgusting... She grinned, chuckling to herself. Me, being desperate for anything to keep my hair from getting caught on everything, but not wanting to get rid of it, I found a brush, went to my pond, and scrubbed it up and down until it shined."

Jacqueline giggled quietly, eyes lighting up at her memories. She looked up at Bunny, and laughed at his surprised expression. "So, ya found a hairbrush in the trash that jus' 'appened to suit ya perfectly." He said in disbelief.

"Well, not quite. Originally, it was a simple, brown, wooden hairbrush that splintered constantly. Later, I covered it in some kind of slick to keep away the splintering, then painted it my favorite color. At the time, it had been purple, a mischievous color. As time went by and... Things happened, I began liking white due to the innocent purity of it. So, I added thin groves and painted those white, then put in chunky white details. Later, when I began liking cool, relaxed blue, I painted some blue inside the white." She spoke, obviously recalling the different emotions she had felt.

Bunnymund smiled at her as he noticed her happiness dissolving into a strong determination. She attempted a brave smile, before cautiously taking his hand and moving towards the door. "Ready?" He said quietly as they walked the darkened halls, avoiding the few particularly brave and rebellious elves that were wandering.

"Can I ever be completely ready?" She groaned, stepping lightly to the globe room. It was almost dawn where they were, the time of each and every one of their guardian meetings. "All in all, though, this is probably as close as I'll get..." she trailed of, hesitantly considering her words. "But I probably wouldn't have even come this far without you.. So thanks, Kangaroo." she whispered hurriedly, her normally pale cheeks turning violet with embarrassment.

He smiled at her, before stepping up to the large doors connecting them to the globe room. He paused, nodding at Jacqueline, before shoving them open. As they raced to a seat, Bunny snatched a specially made, ice cold quilt from a nearby couch to let her have some privacy before she told them. He tossed it to her, and she jumped onto the couch, curled up, and covered her head with the blanket just as Tooth fluttered in.

Bunnymund jumped over the couch, bracing himself for her ice cold skin as he sat down next to her. Tooth waved at them, beginning to shoot over. She squealed suddenly at a sudden grasp onto her ankle, and turned to see North holding her away from them. "Toothie, calm, calm! We see everybody day after day! One minute will not kill you, no?" She sighed, but nodded and waited for Sandy to arrive. He zoomed in, and they began the conversation immediately, starting with Sandy.

He happily created the words_ 'It's been going great. Mainly good dreams, a few believers, and even a little relaxing time to hang out with you all.' _in cursive above his head_. 'I apologize for causing you all to wake at the crack of dawn.'_ he wrote after, hanging his head low with shame. North chuckled, slapping the golden man's back and laughing.

"Is only time you have off! Is always for children, yes? So, it is all right, friend! He boomed happily, before glancing over to Jacqueline. Jack, Jack, vhy haven't you spoken? It is usually 'Children, snowballs, fun!' why blanket-time?" He chuckled, tugging at her blanket.

"Um... So everyone, I have a little surprise..." Jacqueline said quietly, yanking the blanket out of North's grasp, before stepping out from underneath it. She could have laughed; North's eyes seemed to have left his head, and Tooth's jaw had dropped far below what she though was possible. Sandy, of course, had a knowing smile on as he glanced at the small space between she and Bunny.

"Jack!" North and Tooth's voices were unbearable, not to mention the startled garbles of the yetis, baby fairies, and elves, excluding the all-knowing Phil and Baby Tooth.

"My actual name is Jacqueline Overland Frost, and I'm fourteen/seventeen." She grinned playfully at their surprised faces, and casually played with her staff. "Besides that, here's my report: four new believers, 20 more snowball fights, and no problems besides the small and required snowstorms in Greenland." She smiled, flicking her hand in a wave, before flying up to the window. "Also, I promised Jamie I'd play with him today. Gotta go!" She laughed, jumping out the window, seemingly full of confidence.

Tooth and North both stood in shock, eyes wide and staring at the open window. "Besides tha, I should probably get goin' as well. See ya..." Bunny said, and eyebrow raised at their reactions. He tapped his foot twice, and stepped towards the hole.

"Vait! Bunny vhat has happened here? How long has it been known by you that Jack, Jacqueline, the frost-child has been female?!" North shouted crazily, grabbing at Bunny as the rabbit jumped down it's hole. It sealed up, and North slumped to his knees in surprise. Looking towards Tooth, he smiled weakly with a small "Coffee?" she nodded hysterically, and they headed quietly to the kitchen, Sandy having left long ago.

_**AT THE WARREN**_

"Jack! Ya in 'ere?" Bunny called, jumping carefully through the fields of flowers. He was headed to the River of Colors, one of Jacqueline's favorite areas. He heard the river gurgling as he neared it, as well as a gentle humming. He smiled as he neared it, seeing the distracted girl he loved so much. Stepping over, he noticed her grasping a small, purple, white, and blue hairbrush; the same one she loved so dearly and brushed with daily. He walked carefully, as to avoid disturbing her, and sat behind her, enjoying the cool spring breeze.

"I know you're there, Bunny." He flinched, before chuckling quietly.

"Can't hide from ya, huh?" He noticed her nodding, and laughed quietly, before stepping over to peek over her shoulder to view what she had been working on.

"I think I'm ready for some new shapes and colors..." she smiled at him, gently brushing on small pink diamonds, red squares, golden circles, and green triangles. The triangles were carved in, unlike the others. She grinned at him, rubbing the grooves on the back of the brush, carefully avoiding the fresh paint of the diamonds and other shapes.

"Extremely important things are carved in, to prove I will never, ever forget. The first carvings proved the beginning of a horrible, sad story... But my green triangles show me a new beginning." She looked up to Bunny, there faces inches apart.

She reveled in his hot breath, he enjoying the sweet scent of a winter wonderland coming from her soft lips. Leaning closer, their lips connected in a sweet, warm, and cold embrace. They kissed passionately, their lips and tongues battling in a war for dominance. Suddenly, the battle stopped, and Jacqueline leaned back with a small wink.

"You smeared my paint." She smiled at him, kissed his cheek quickly, before snatching up her staff and flying away.


End file.
